On Saturday, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the February 25 election, Peter Obi, visited Plateau State.
His visit followed gunmen attacks in 25 communities of the state, which left over 150 people dead on Christmas Eve.
The attacks, which affected Bokkos, Mangu and Barkin-Ladi Local Government Areas, also left property worth millions of naira destroyed.
Obi, who arrived in Bokkos around 4 p.m. was said to have moved straight to the camps of the internally displaced persons in the area.
He was received by the Local Government Chairman, Monday Kassam.
The chairman of Community Peace Observers in the LGA, Kefas Mallai, who confirmed Obi’s visit to the attack victims in Bokkos LGA said, “Peter Obi just visited IDP camps in Bokkos. He arrived at about 4 p.m. today (Saturday), December 30, 2023.”
After observing a minute of silence, he condoled the Internally Displaced Persons in the camps and promised to send N10 million into the IDP support account as managed by a committee set up by TIC Chairman, Bokkos LG.
“Obi also promised to talk with other partners to send in support into the IDP account as well as pray for the peace of Bokkos that the ugly incident does not occur again,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Plateau State Police Command on Saturday said it had deployed more personnel to provide security in Bokkos and other troubled LGs in the state.
The spokesman for the command, Alabo Alfred, who disclosed this in a statement on Saturday said the action complied with the directive of the Inspector-General of Police after visiting the state to assess the situation.
The statement read, “Sequel to the visit of the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, yesterday, December 29, 2023, to Plateau State in the wake of the deadly attacks in Bokkos and Barkin-Ladi Local Government Areas of the state which claimed many lives and resulted in destruction of property, the Plateau State Police Command has deployed more special armed police forces to the troubled areas to prevent further attacks and restore normalcy.
“The deployment is in line with the directive of the Inspector-General of Police who provided additional manpower and resources to the state to augment the operational strength of the command to manage the ugly situation and provide safety for residents of the affected areas.
“As part of measures to protect lives and property in the affected areas, the Commissioner of Police, Plateau State Command, CP Okoro Alawari, has placed a ban on all forms of late-night spiritual and social gathering in Bokkos, Barkin-Ladi, Riyom and Mangu LGAs.
“The CP emphasised that all ‘Cross Over to New Year’ programmes should be rescheduled to hold at early hours of dusk, not to exceed 7 p.m. of the night.”
“The CP assured the good people of the state that the Plateau State Police Command is committed to full implementation of the IGP’s directives to apprehend the perpetrators of the dastardly act, provide safety to residents of the troubled areas, and restore peace and tranquility in those areas.
“The Plateau State Police helmsman also appealed to members of the public to support, cooperate with, and assist the police with timely and useful information to tackle the menace.
“He further tasked all police operatives deployed to the affected areas to demonstrate valour and professionalism while discharging their constitutional duties and work in synergy with other security agencies to restore peace and order in their respective areas of assignment,” the statement added.
Gunmen were said to have again killed three youths in a fresh attack that occurred in Bokkos LG on Saturday.
This is just as a former governor of the state, Jonah Jang, condemned what he described as the continued attacks and killing of innocent citizens in Plateau communities by gunmen.
This was just as he called on the Presidency and the National assembly to consider the establishment of state police as part of efforts to flush out insecurity in the state.
The Nigerian Senate, on Saturday, summoned the nation’s security chiefs over the recent killings in Plateau State.
Those invited include the Chief of Army staff; Taoreed Lagbaja; Chief of Air Staff; Hassan Abubakar; the Director-General of the Department of State Services, Yusuf Bichi; and the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun.
The Senate also observed a minute silence in honour of the victims of the attacks.
The police boss on Friday, visited the state following attacks on 25 communities by gunmen on Christmas Eve, which left over 150 persons dead.
Egbetokun, who expressed shock over the killings, said he had ordered the commencement of a special operation to stem the tide of attacks and killings in the state.
Also, the Defence Headquarters attributed the delayed response from troops during the attacks to the terrain and other factors.
Speaking in an interview with our correspondent on Wednesday, the Director, Defence Media Operations, Maj. Gen. Edward Buba, admitted that the troops received over 30 distress calls while the attacks were on but were handicapped by the difficult terrain and other factors.
He also said how the assailants planned and executed the attacks across the locations made it difficult for the troops to get to the scenes on time.
